Feeding mechanisms in animals

Objectives

At the end of the lecture, students should be able to:

• State the source of food for animals.

• Define terms such as autotrophic nutrition, heterotrophic

nutrition, holozoic nutrition and filter feeding.

• Comment on feeding adaptations in different groups of

organisms.
 Feeding mechanisms in animals
Autotrophic nutrition

• Production of complex organic compounds from simple inorganic

molecules using energy from light (by photosynthesis) or inorganic
chemical reactions (chemosynthesis).

• Green plants use the sun’s solar energy, carbon dioxide (that leaves
take from the air) and water from the soil to synthesize sugars e.g.
Glucose and indirectly all plant parts.
• Green plants are autotrophs/producers

http://tomatosphere.org/teachers/guide/background-information/photosynthesis
 Feeding mechanisms in animals
Animals need food
o To provide energy required to keep alive and to maintain body processes,
for muscle contraction and many other processes.
o As raw materials for building and maintaining cellular and metabolic
processes.
o For growth and reproduction.

Heterotrophic nutrition
o Nutrition of organisms that need readymade complex organic molecules
obtained directly from plants or from organisms that have fed on plants.

o All animals cannot make their own food. They depend on green plants
directly or indirectly for their food supply.

o All animals and non-green plants are called heterotrophs and their mode
of nutrition is called heterotrophic nutrition.

o Heterotrophs are the consumers in the ecosystem.

 Feeding mechanisms in animals
Heterotrophs can be classified into the following types depending on their
feeding habits:

Herbivores e.g., deer, cow, rabbit, sheep, giraffe, elephant, etc.

Carnivores e.g., lion, tiger, lizard, hyaena, etc.

Omnivores e.g., cockroach, human beings, dogs, etc.

Parasites e.g. roundworm and tapeworm are parasites in the human

intestine.
Saprophytes
• Organisms that feed on dead and decaying organic matter e.g.,
mushroom, earthworm and some bacteria.

Scavengers
• Animals that feed on dead animals e.g., vulture, jackal, crow, etc.
 Feeding mechanisms in animals
Holozoic nutrition (Greek holo -whole ; zoikos -of animals)

o A method of nutrition that involves the ingestion of liquid or solid organic

material, digestion, absorption and assimilation of the food to utilize it.

o A type of heterotrophic nutrition.

It involves:
o Ingestion: Taking in complex organic food through mouth opening.
o Digestion: Change of complex food into simple form by action of enzymes.
o Absorption: Passing of simple, soluble nutrients through blood or lymph.
o Assimilation: Utilization of absorbed food for various metabolic processes.
o Egestion: Expelling out the undigested food.

All animals and humans carry out this mode of nutrition.

 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Feeding on small particles of food
Formation of digestive or food vacuoles E.g. Amoeba & paramecium
• They eat algae, bacteria, plant cells, microscopic protozoa, among
others.
• Food material (e.g. microscopic algae) is enclosed in food vacuoles
bounded by cell membrane.
- Pseudopodia for movement and feeding
• Digestive enzymes are poured into the newly
formed vacuole from the surrounding
cytoplasm.

• Products of digestion are absorbed into the

surrounding cytoplasm, and the waste
material is ejected.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Formation of digestive or food vacuoles

• In paramecium, food vacuoles form at the cytopharynx.

• Cilia - hair like appendages help the paramecium move food into the oral
groove.
• Oral Groove - collects and directs food into the cell mouth
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals

Use of cilia in feeding E.g. Ciliates, sponges

• Many ciliates are filter feeders. They randomly strain (sieve)

food particles from water.

• Ciliates create water currents with special ciliary structures

associated with the cytostome (cell mouth).

• The synchronized beating of cilia pushes a stream of water

against a membranelle (composed of cilia), which acts as a
collecting sieve where the food particles become trapped in
free spaces between the cilia.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Use of cilia in feeding e.g. Sponges
Sponges:

• Are multicellular animals of the Phylum Porifera (“pore bearing”).

• Bodies full of pores and channels (allow water to circulate through them).
• Rely on maintaining a constant water flow
through their bodies to obtain food and
oxygen and to remove wastes.
• Feed mostly on bacteria and small organic
particles they filter from seawater pumped
through their internal chambers.
• Food is captured on choanocytes (special “sieve”
cells). Microvilli (in collar) filter nutrients
http://www.realmagick.com/sponge-
from water flowing across them. anatomy/
Food particles are then phagocytosed by the cell (Anderson, 2001).
Feeding methods & adaptations in animals

Sponge. Watch video on it

 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Filter feeding

• a method of feeding in which food particles or small organisms are

randomly strained (sieved) from water.

• Found primarily among the small to medium-sized invertebrates but

occurs in a few large vertebrates (e.g., flamingos, baleen whales).

• In bivalves (Phylum Mollusca, Class Bivalvia) such as clam,

- the gills (for respiration) also function to strain suspended material out
of water.
- Hairlike filaments (cilia) produce
water current over the gills. Other
cilia move trapped food particles along
the gill face and into food grooves.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Filter feeding
Blue whale (Phylum Chordata; Class Mammalia; Order Cetacea)

• Cetacean – any member of an entirely aquatic group of mammals commonly

known as whales, dolphins and porpoises.
• Baleen whale (toothless whale) possesses unique epidermal modifications of
the mouth called baleen, which is a keratinized structure like hair, fingernails
and hooves.
• Baleen or whalebone replaces the teeth. These narrow vertical plates, hang
inside the mouth cavity in two transverse rows, one from each side of the roof
of the mouth.
• Baleen whales seek out concentrations of small planktonic animals, open their
mouth and take in enormous quantities of water.
• They squeeze the water out through the sides, trapping the shrimplike krill
(small shrimplike planktonic crustacean of the open seas) on the baleen’s
bristles.
Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Feeding methods & adaptations in animals

Krill Swarm. Watch video on it

 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Formation of Mucus traps
E.g. Gastropods (snails and slugs)
• Many species: sea snails and slugs, freshwater snails,
freshwater limpets, land snails and slugs.
• Very diverse including carnivores, herbivores, scavengers,
filter feeders.
• Filter feeders use gills or nets of mucus to trap their prey,
which they pull into the mouth with radula.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Use of tentacles (tentacular feeding)

E.g. sea cucumbers (Phylum Echinodermata, Class Holothuroidea)

• Marine animals with a leathery skin and

an elongated body.

• They live on or near the ocean floor,

sometimes partially buried beneath it
with tentacles above.

• Tentacles (tube feet) trap tiny particles like algae, minute aquatic animals,
or waste materials/detritus for food.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Feeding on fluids or soft tissues

• Uptake through body surface e.g. Some parasites, tapeworms

• External digestion of food and sucking of soft tissue e.g. Spiders

• Ingestion of blood e.g. Ticks, insects, leeches.

 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Feeding on large food particles

Ingestion of inactive masses

Detritus feeders E.g. earthworm

• Detritus: non-living particulate organic material. It includes bodies of dead
organisms.

Scraping and chewing E.g. Gastropods and vertebrates

• Radula (radulae or radulas) is a minutely

toothed, chitinous ribbon, typically used for
scraping or cutting food before it enters the
oesophagus.

• It is unique to molluscs, found in every

class except bivalves. Snails radula at work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusca
 Feeding methods & adaptations in animals
Gastropods (snails and slugs)
• Very diverse including carnivores, herbivores, scavengers,
filter feeders.

• Both herbivores and carnivores use radula. Land-dwelling

species can chew up leaves, bark, fruit and decomposing
animals while marine species can scrape algae off rocks on the
sea floor.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Feeding Mechanism in Vertebrates
Morphological/Anatomical
• mouth parts, powerful jaws, tongues, teeth
• appendages e.g. specialized claws and fingers for apprehending or killing

Physiological/Biochemical
• Camouflage
• Buccal/oral secretions e.g. venom
Behavioural
• Thanatosis (feigning death) as a defensive response e.g. invertebrates
(ants, beetles, spiders) & vertebrates: snakes (e.g. brown snakes Storeria
dekayi)
• lie in wait
• stalking e.g. lion or lioness, cat
• Hunt; setting up traps, etc.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Fishes
Cyclostomes
• Primitive aquatic jawless vertebrate (Class
Cyclostomata) such as lamprey & hagfish.
tepapa.govt.nz
• Have a round sucking mouth and pouchlike gills

• Hagfishes
- almost blind, but have well developed
senses of touch and smell
- eel-like scavengers (feed on the insides of dead & dying zoology.ubc.ca
fish). Also eat marine invertebrates e.g. polychaete worms
- have four pairs of sensing tentacles around their mouth
- are equipped with two pairs of tooth-like rasps on the top of a tongue-
like projection for feeding. Knot tying helps tear pieces of food.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Fishes
Lampreys
• Sea lampreys are filter feeders as larvae
but predatory parasites as adults.
Feeding adaptations include
• Suctorial mouth is adapted for obtaining
liquid food e.g. body fluids of other fish.
• Rasping tongue bearing tooth-like
cusps. Can cause serious wounds on fish. myweb.ttu.edu
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Bony fishes
• Most fish are carnivorous, feeding on
worms, snails, other fish, insects etc.
Mosquito fish (Gambusiaaffinis)
- e.g. mackerels & tunas (family Scombridae)
are active predators.
• Some are herbivores (e.g. parrotfish), omnivores or
detritivores.
• Size and position of mouth indicates food
size and mode of feeding.
- Bottom feeders usually have down positioned
mouths e.g. cat fish
- surface feeders - upward positioned mouth https://en.wikipedia.org
- open water feeders - symmetrical mouths. /wiki/Catfish
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Bony fishes
Feeding adaptations include:
• large canine teeth grasp its shelled prey. Blunt
molars crush shells. E.g. wolf eel

• chisel-like teeth for eating algae e.g. parrotfish week.divebums.com

(family Scaridae).
• Production of strong electric current to stun prey. E.g. Electric catfish
(Malapterurus electricus) can produce 350 volts of electricity.
• picking debris and parasites from larger fishes. E.g. cleaner wrasse
(Labroides dimidiatus)
Light organs
• Bottom-dwelling deep sea species can produce
light (bioluminescence) to attract prey.
E.g. anglerfishes
webexhibits.org
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Electric organ (typically located in the tail of the electric fish)
• Electrogenic fish can generate electric fields. E.g. electric eel
(Electrophorus electricus), electric rays, electric catfishes.

• Most electrogenic fish are also electroreceptive (Alves-Gomes, 2001)

• The electrical output is called electric organ discharge (EOD).

• Electroreceptive fish can detect electric fields e.g. sharks, rays and
catfishes.
- They are not classified as electric fish (cannot generate electricity).
- Can detect weak electric fields produced by prey.

Venomous fishes
• Venom immobilizes prey when injected into it.
• E.g. Stonefishes (e.g. Synanceia verrucosa), lionfish
Lionfish (Pterois antennata)
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Amphibians
Feeding adaptations include:
• Long sticky tongue fastened at the front of its mouth. Tongue
flicks in and out to catch its prey.
• Large and broad mouth to capture and eat large prey
• Tiny "teeth" on upper jaw & the roof of mouth of frog mainly
used to hold prey.
• Broad flat skull for holding prey
• Large and bulging eyes on top of head
for wide angled vision.
• The frog pulls its eyes down into the roof animal-zone.com
of its mouth to help push food down its throat.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Reptiles
• Reptilian skull ranges from the reduced, loosely joined, or
kinetic skull of snakes to large, solid skull of crocodiles.
Kinetic skull of snakes
- long and flexible quadrate bones (connect lower
jaw to skull in snakes) allow movement of skull bones
& snakes to swallow large prey

- Lower jawbones joined

by flexible band of
tough tissue enables
the two bones to
articulate separately.
Bush viper feeding rcreptiles.com
deviantart.com
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Reptiles
Venomous snakes
• Examples: Indian cobra (Naja naja), tiger
snakes (Notechis sp.) found in Australia, black
mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) found in Africa.

• have venom glands and fangs visual.merriam-webster.com

• Venom paralyzes prey.

Snakes with pit organs

• E.g. python, rattlesnake & pit vipers have special
heat-sensitive pit organs on their heads.

• Pit organs enable them track & strike Infrared thermal radiation from rat
nature.com
warm-blooded prey.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Reptiles
Pythons
• A family of non-venomous constrictors.
• Bite and coil around the prey to kill
Water Python (Liasis fuscus)
it by suffocation. They usually find the www.oceanwideimages.com/

head and begin to swallow prey.

Ball or royal python feeding

(Python regius)
justaboutballz.com
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Reptiles
Crocodiles
• Eat almost anything they can
overpower, ranging from turtles,
snakes, birds, mud crabs,
monkeys, buffalo, humans.
• Juveniles eat insects, crustaceans, small reptiles, frogs & small
fish.
• Strong jaws and teeth (thecodont and homodont dentition),
elongated mouth and robust skull.
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Lizards e.g. Chameleon
• Feed on insects, fruits
• Highly unique projective tongues
• Camouflage
• Wide angle vision

www.chamaeleonidae.com/.../shapeimage_1.png
Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates

Chameleon hunting flies.

Watch video on it
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Birds
• Bird bill is shaped
according to what
a bird eats.
• Duck (prying/digging)

• Night hawk (grain eating)

• Gull (scavenging/pecking)
• Cross bill (seed eating)
• Parrot (nut cracker)
• Kiwi (probes soil)
• Flamingo (mud sifter).
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Birds
• The shape of feet
reflects their habitat
& type of food they
might eat.

arthursclipart.org
 Feeding methods & adaptations in Vertebrates
Mammals
• Bats: most are insectivorous (catch most insects while in flight
at night).
- Small eyes used in daytime or when there is bright moon.

- Navigation and hunting accomplished mainly with

echolocation.
-- Bat can gather information from the echoes e.g. size,
shape, distance of object and whether it is moving.
- Sharp teeth for chewing.

• Some bats eat fruit, blood, pollen, nectar, fish, other small
vertebrates. Echolocation poorly developed and eyes are large in
fruit-eating bats.
 Life in the deep seas – Source of food
Food source in deep ocean

• Rich animal communities occur in several

places of undersea volcanic activity where
rigid plates of the earth’s crust pull apart.

- Total darkness at a depth of several

Hydrothermal vent
thousand meters? No light, en.wikipedia.org
no green plants.
- Their existence is completely independent
of food chains based on photosynthesis.

- What is their source of food?

Hydrothermal vent
• Volcanic fissures in a planet's surface from which geothermally
heated water issues.
 Life in the deep seas – Source of food

• Water from the vents contains a variety of dissolved

minerals and high concentrations of hydrogen
sulphide.
• This water mixes oxygen-rich ocean water and H2S
gets oxidized to S.
• There is tremendous production of bacteria that
obtain chemical energy from the oxidation of H2S
(Karl et al., 1980).
• Bacteria absorb H2S from the vents, oxidize it and use
chemical energy released during oxidation to
combine carbon, hydrogen and oxygen into sugar
molecules.
 Life in the deep seas – Source of food

• Filter feeders e.g. clams and mussels thrive on

filtering out these bacteria.
• Predatory animals like crabs feed on other animals.
• Food chain begins with the bacteria and is based on
chemical energy (from H2S oxidation).